Star Wars and the Swords of Justice
by Uskius
Summary: "Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, Unrest was growing amongst the masters of a mystic Force Known as the Jedi Order. On a planet called Unova, An ancient betrayal and abomination is on the rise: a being Known as Kyurem is slowly and steadily extending its Icy reign of terror. Enter Jedi masters Ash, Siilan, and Iris, A trio vacationing to Unova..."
1. Episode I: The Secret Sword

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away,  
Unrest was growing amongst the masters of a mystic Force  
Known as the Jedi Order. On a planet called Unova,  
An ancient betrayal and abomination is on the rise: a being  
Known as Kyurem is slowly and steadily extending its  
Icy reign of terror. Enter Jedi masters Ash, Siilan, and Iris,  
A trio vacationing to Unova to drink in the beauty and harmony  
Found there; and Padawan K'el Deo, who is training under  
The guidance of a legendary trio of Jedi Masters known as  
The Swords of Justice...

K'el Deo stood motionless in the grass clearing, the blue blade of his light saber unactivated and at the ready. The wind softly rustled in the breeze as it always had, but then K'el activated his saber and whirled around to block the incoming strike.

"Well done K'el, you've learned to sense my presence." Jedi master Virisia took up a deep ready stance, her light saber held out to the side as she slowly smiled.

"The grass is my friend and speaks to me in the Force, it told me you were coming." Virisia nodded and nimbly leapt towards K'el, somersaulting in mid-air and bringing her light saber down, only for it to find empty air. She turned and swept towards her Padawan, her strikes swift and graceful. K'el backpedaled through the high grass, the green blade of his master's light saber blending in with the foliage. The severed stalks obscured his vision, and in addition to her flowing offense Virisia used the Force to keep them always around K'el's face. Springing up, K'el tip-toed on the grass, and Virisia soon followed. K'el swept his saber down at Virisia's feet and clipped the grass, meaning to send it up towards her face with the Force, but this move was easily read and instead the stalks swirled around the two as their light sabers whirled against each other. Their blades locked, K'el quickly swung them around in a try at disarming Virisia- and succeeded. However, she simply smiled and closed her eyes for a moment as she held out her hand. A light began to radiate from it, taking on a bright green shade much like her light saber and humming with power. The quiet instant passed, and almost faster than K'el could follow the mystic blade connected with his saber and forced him several yards back...

In the afternoon, K'el Deo stood under the hot sun in a vast canyon strewn with rocks. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the red-headed young man stared down his master Terrakha. "Here I come!" The Padawan surged forwards, his energy forcing Terrakha on the defensive momentarily. Soon, the blunt and bullish offense of the stocky Terrakha changed things around, with K'el struggling to sustain his defense. With a sweep of his hand Terrakha used the Force to send K'el flying into a rock pillar. Recovering swiftly, K'el resumed his energetic and acrobatic offense. Instead of meeting his master directly, he now employed more evasive footwork, and focused on looking for openings. _Perhaps, I can do as he did!_ In the Force, K'el took hold of a rock the size of his head and flung it at Terrakha. The Jedi master caught it with one hand, the momentum causing him to slide back. He smiled and used the Force to launch it back at K'el. Expecting such a move, K'el put the rock into orbit around them as once again their light sabers clashed. Stumbling back from the heavy strikes K'el brought the rock streaking down at Terrakha, who shook his head and promptly crushed the rock into powder with the Force. Sensing an opportunity K'el used the dust to obscure Terrakha's vision, and went at him with a flurry of quick strikes. Each time, the golden brown blade of his master's light saber parted the cloud and met K'el's own. Bursting the haze, Terrakha pinned down K'el under his light saber, a smile on his face.

_Focus, focus..._ Concentrating hard on his free hand, K'el tried to reproduce the mystic blade of light from it that his masters were so known for. _Come on...!_ Abruptly giving up K'el instead used the Force to fling Terrakha at a standing stone with all his might. Impacting the stone at a weak point, it actually cracked and began to fall on Terrakha! Grimacing, the air around his hand flickered and buzzed into a sword of the Force's pure light, a deep golden-brown hue. It pricked the surface of the massive boulder, and with a shout Terrakha flung it backwards over his head. K'el stood in awe for a moment, his resolve to follow in the path of his masters growing...

In the evening, the sky had clouded over and begun to storm. K'el Deo was chasing Cobal, still eager to train. "Duel me, master Cobal!"

Looking over his shoulder as he sprang off a tree limb, Cobal answered, "It's storming, K'el! We have to find shelter!"

"But I'm ready now! I'm ready to fight Kyurem!" Using the Force, K'el snapped the tree branch Cobal was about to jump off of. Impossibly, Cobal ground to a halt in mid-air and spun around to dart back towards K'el. A blue blade of light sprouting from his hand he slashed at K'el, the swift blow forcing his Padawan far back until he slammed into a tree. Shaking his head K'el picked up his fallen light saber and rushed in to meet his master. Cobal's Soresu was immaculate, confounding K'el with timely blocks and swift footwork. The young Jedi did not relent, though, and swept his light saber in with all the power he had. The rain was dispersed by the vigorous clash of light sabers, forming a sort of veil of mist around the two. But the duel was not to last, as Cobal sent K'el stumbling backwards with the Force. Looking upwards, Cobal raised his hand shielded his Padawan and himself from the lightning, redirecting it to the trees around them. Blinking and shaking his head, K'el ran back in to continue, trying to emulate the style of his master Terrakha. K'el rammed in the direct strikes almost at random, seeking to confuse Cobal with his thrusts and cuts. The Jedi master deftly deflected them, and picked up K'el in the Force, holding him in the air. "Let me go!"

"Bring yourself down, prove you are ready!" Cobal heaved in a few swings with his blade of light, which K'el blocked. Then, surprisingly, Cobal found himself being lifted up with the Force, as K'el wildly swung at him. The two held their gaze for a moment, then dropped back to the ground. K'el now tried to imitate the graceful style of his master Virisia, copying her circular footwork and whirling strikes. He spun around for a low sweep, then twirled his light saber up to block a strike to his back- at which point the blue blade of Cobal's own saber activated close to his cheek. "Yield, K'el." With a sigh K'el nodded, and deactivated his light saber. "Do not be disheartened, for you show great skill and promise. But you still have much to learn, as do we all. Come, let us meet up with Terrakha and Virisia."

"Yes, my master." Though feeling defeated, K'el's determination was still strong, and deep in his heart he made up his mind...

~oOo~

K'el was tuning up the repulsor lift engine on his Starhawk 2-b speeder bike, thoughts racing in the quiet of the garage. _...and didn't Cobal say I had great skill and promise? I've been training so hard lately, making so much progress..._ Putting down his ratchet for a moment, K'el got started on closing things up. _I was able to sense Master Virisia, and I've been duelling well against Master Terrakha... and I can sense Kyurem now, his presence in the dark side... I know that we came to Unova to deal with him, but we can't let him unbalance the Force here any longer!_ "There. More efficiency, and from that more speed with these new units. I think it's time I tested them out..." Putting away his tools, K'el opened the garage door and started up his Starhawk. The engines came to life with a steady hum, and K'el rocketed out of the garage. He passed soon out of streets and veered off the well worn roads leading into the small city and into the forest. The sense of Kyurem's presence growing closer, K'el maneuvered the speeder bike between the trees carefully, on the lookout for the mountain where the icy base was located.

Within minutes the mountain was in sight, looming up ahead. Pouring on the speed, K'el zoomed towards the lair of Kyurem...

Elsewhere, Virisia was meditating. Key word, _was._ "K'el, no..." Quickly rising up she reached out to the other Swords of Justice in the Force, making her way out to the speeder bike garage.

Sweeping open the door, she found Cobal already there, and heard Terrakha coming up behind her. "What was the call for?" He asked, stepping through the door and standing next to Virisia.

"See for yourself," Cobal said, gesturing to the speeder bikes. After a moment, it dawn on Terrakha.

"I sensed him heading towards Darth Kyurem's lair," Virisia explained.

"...After all we have taught him," Cobal said bitterly. "Power without humility and discipline is so vulgar and uncivilized."

"Agreed. We must hurry, and if possible catch up to him before he arrives." The others nodded in agreeance with Virisia, and started up their own speeder bikes before setting out.

K'el dismounted, and turn off his Starhawk. He could feel Kyurem's presence like a cold hand on his shoulder, guiding him towards the center of the mountain. Walking along a long, straight tunnel he could see a large cavern up ahead. Starting to run, the caver slowly opened up, until K'el came to the edge. Looking down he saw walkways crossing the space, with a wide path from some lower level leading to a cave on the other side. Hopping down to the walkways and then the central path. He now could see that what had appeared to be a broken walkway was now part of an arching gate, the other side having been obscured. Now feeling a more literal chill set in, K'el raised his voice. "Kyurem, I'm here to challenge you to a duel! Come out!"

The temperature slowly but notably descended, and K'el heard footfalls coming from the cave. From the shadows a form appeared, a dark figure clothed in robes and a hood. Stopping in the middle of the circlular space in front of the cave, it spoke in an ominous and rumbling voice "A duel? Who are you to ask such a thing of me?"

"I'm K'el Deo, a Sword of Justice!" Lied K'el.

'Ha, a Sword of Justice. So they have come for me at last? Such a pity..."

"It's not a pitiful thing for one in the dark side to be vanquished!"

"...No, K'el. I speak of your life ending here." Murmuring a few words, Kyurem threw up his hand, and the pillars encircling him as well as the gate became encrusted in sharp, thick ice. "Pass through the gate, and abandon all hope." K'el swallowed, but held Kyurem's piercing yellow gaze. Slowly picking up speed K'el ran forwards through the gate, activating his light saber. Darth Kyurem activated his own, the blood red blade meeting K'el's as the Padawan flipped forwards to attack. Kyurem attacked with contemptuous simplicity, threatening and subtly moving around K'el with his presence in the Force. Without even so much as a gesture, he took up K'el in the Force and hurled him into one of the icy pillars. They broke off and splintered on impact, but K'el recovered and pushed off back at Kyurem. They clashed with great intensity and speed for a moment, before the duel resumed its previous pace. "This is what the Swords of Justice have become? I can't even laugh at this!"

"Then I'll show you what I'm really made of!" K'el drew on his training with Virisia, and left his light saber spinning while he dashed at full speed around Kyurem, and then attempted to Force push the Sith into it. He failed; and worse still Kyurem flung away K'el's saber before turning around to face him. His face partially obscured in shadow, his golden stare boring into K'el, he summoned K'els saber to his hand and advanced on his young opponent. Remembering the footwork he learned from Cobal, he dodged as best he could, aiming to make Kyurem cross swords with himself as often as he could; finally he did so and used the Force to swing his saber up at Kyurem's forearm. This too failed, as Kyurem deactivated the saber. However, K'el yanked it out of his hand with the Force and made it back around towards the entrance. He heard a group running in, and recognized their presence in the Force. Looking back to make sure, he saw the solid and strong form of Terrakha, his square jaw firmly set; the tall and willowy Virisia, the fearful and beautiful symmetry of her face looking as if the Force itself was staring at him; and Cobal's steely resolve and disapproval.

"What was he thinking..." Cobal said to himself.

"He likely wasn't," Answered Virisia. "Impulse decisions require no thought; they don't require intuition from the Force..." The Swords of Justice watched as Kyurem bullied K'el around the ring, pulling a leg out from under their Padawan with the Force and then kicking him into an icy pillar. Again K'el scrambled back at Kyurem, swinging at the Sith with everything he had. His dark tattered robes seeming like shadow, Kyurem evaded K'el's furious offense with cold misdirection.

"Look at him!" Terrakha said. "We have to stop this!" Leaping down Terrakha stepped onto a walkway, only for Kyurem to hold him in place with the Force.

"_DO NOT INTERFERE!_" Simultaneously flinging Terrakha back to the other Swords of Justice and knocking K'el away, Kyurem roared. Feeling a large event in the Force happening, K'el silently watched as something in Kyurem's hood became white. In the mysterious breeze that was picking up in the cavern, Kyurem's hood got blown back- and K'el got his first look at the Sith's face. His skin was pale, like his entire face was covered in scar tissue; his jaw was exaggerated, and from the right side a few short, bony spikes protruded; over his left eye was a long vertical scar, and Kyurem's now white hair was blowing about. Reciting a short phrase in a harsh language, Kyurem thrust his hand at the Swords of Justice and a great burst of yellow lightning tinged in blue lanced towards them, washing over the Jedi and bursting into a large block of ice!

"NO!" Feeling his rage start to bubble up K'el swung wildly at Kyurem. His emotions running out of control, his form became sloppy and before long Kyurem forced him down to his knees. There was a loud shattering sound, and looking up K'el saw ice breaking off from the pillars and flying down at him. He tried to dodge, but couldn't evade everything, and while he was trying to delect a shard of ice Kyurem sliced off part of his lightsaber. K'el was now on the run, being pelted and pricked by the ice shards as he stumbled and leapt from path to path. In the darker lower region of the cavern now, he missed a step and tumbled down a steep slope.

"This battle is not yet over!" Roared Kyurem.

~oOo~

"Step right up, get your Darumaka lunch boxes right here!" Jedi masters Ash, Iris, and Siilan were strolling down the sidewalk in Windu City, preparing to board their train. The call caught the interest of Ash, who almost skipped over to the stand.

"Such a kid..." Iris muttered under her breath.

"And they can turn into wind chimes? How cool is that!"

"Pretty cool, if I do say so myself," The girl running the stand said. She had never seen Jedi in person, and was turning on the charm for Ash. "They also would make great toys for those Pokemon of yours when they're empty."

Ash nodded. "What do you think of that, Pikachu and Scraggy?"

"Pika!"

"That settles it then." Siilan spoke. "We'll take sixteen Darumaka lunch boxes, five bottles of water and three oran berry pops, please." The girl running the stand nodded, and began to hand the boxes to Ash, stacking the carry trays one on top of the other. Nodding and turning away as Siilan moved to pay, Ash accidentally tripped over Scraggy, and the lunch boxes went flying. They sailed up into the air, and Pikachu jumped to catch one while Axew and Scraggy scrambled around for the others. Ash caught two, Iris caught another two, and Siilan used the Force to safely maneuver the others into Ash's arms. They breathed a sigh of relief, until they heard the conductor.

"Departing for Roshan City in one minute! All aboard!" The Jedi masters and their Pokemon huried off to board the train. They spent a joyous time in their compartment, listening to a song Iris told them was called "Rival Destinies." Axew and Pikachu played with each other, making faces and dancing around. Before too long though they bothered Iris, who wanted to listen to the song.

"That's it, you two got play out in the aisle! You're too loud!" The Pokemon happily obliged, running off. Ash gave a sheepish grin and followed them out. Something caught his eye off to the side as he followed Pikachu, and a glance confirmed that it was Scraggy!

"Oh no, I knew I forgot something!" Ash ran to the back of the car, and flung open the door. "Scraggy, jump! I'll catch you!" The young Pokemon leaped his farthest and came close to Ash, but fell short. Before Scraggy could hit the ground, Ash leaned over the rail and pulled Scraggy in with the Force. "Gotcha, buddy." Looking over his shoulder to see Siilan and Iris coming out behind him, there was a sound on the roof.

"Pika...?"

"What is it, Pikachu?"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu pointed to the top of the adjoining car, and bounded off Ash's shoulder to go investigate. The others soon followed, making their way over the railing and up the ladder on the other side. "Pika..." There, on top of the train's roof, was a severely injured K'el Deo.

"Oh no!" Ash crawled over, and gently shook K'el's shoulder. "Come on, wake up!"

"He's seriously hurt. And his light saber is broken, too."

"I thought there were no other Jedi visiting the planet," Siilan said.

"Well, he's our brother in the Force so we'll do what we can. Wake up!" Ash repeated. K'el stirred, but his eyes were still closed.

"Ash, Siilan..." Iris began. "I can sense that his mind is troubled; a dark force is haunting it..."

"Could you do that specialty of yours and go inside...?" Ash asked.

"NOT ON TOP OF A MOVING TRAIN! There's a much simpler way." Reaching over, Iris slapped K'el.

"Hmn? W- where...?" K'el came to with a start, frantically looking around. "Who- Jedi? Here?"

"Be at ease, brother." Siilan said. "You are safe with us."

"No, no..." K'el shook his head. "Kyurem... I- I... he's coming."

"Who's Kyurem?" Siilan asked.

"He's... he's... he's here!" K'el pointed behind them, where a dark figure had suddenly appeared. Their dark robes were whipping around in the wind, and their red light saber buzzed to life.

"You thought to run and escape?" Ice quickly crept up towards the Jedi, who scuttled back away. Kyurem flung bolts of Force lightning at them as they stumbled over the top of the train. Hovering after them, Kyurem exchanged a few strikes with Ash and Siilan while Iris helped K'el away. Jumping over the gap between cars Ash crossed blades with Kyurem dozens of times while he backflipped over the short distance. "There is nowhere to go, K'el! This will end here!" Thrusting more Force lightning at them, Kyurem slowly advanced. Siilan was doing his best to block the assault with his light saber but the strain was rapidly mounting and he wasn't sure of how much longer he could keep it up. Looking back over her shoulder, Iris pushed Darth Kyurem's feet out from under with the Force, and the unexpected move gave them a moment to run.

Sprinting and making one final leap they landed in a cargo car, an open bin that might have ordinarily been used to carry luggage or some other resource. The Jedi breathed easy for a moment. In the shadows of the cargo car, they saw that K'el was unconscious again. "Kyurem... that name sounds familiar..." Ash whispered.

"It brings back something from my days as a Padawan in the Village of Dragons..." Iris began. "I asked my master once who the strongest Force user in the galaxy was. She said, 'the strongest is he who is one with the Force', but then she sighed and took me to the fireplace. 'There once was a Jedi, whose name is no longer uttered, that was a great friend of the creatures known as Pokemon. As you know, because of their innate unity with the Force Pokemon wield fanciful and amazing powers. So, out of love for Pokemon, he sought to unify himself with one, and thereby become one with Pokemon and the Force. My young one, the Jedi have no rituals for such goals. That Jedi turned to the dark side in his pursuit of this knowledge, and many young Jedi knights followed him, hoping to achieve this goal also.' So, I asked if the Jedi succeeded. 'Yes. He merged himself with the dragon Pokemon Kyurem, and took its name for himself.' After that she stared into the fire for a while and didn't answer any questions. So it very well may be that this Kyurem is the strongest there is."

"But we musn't fear. Our unity in the Force can overcome him," Siilan said.

"Strength in numbers is a lie, the number is one!" Collapsing the back of the cargo car in the Force, Darth Kyurem twisted it and wrenched it off, tossing it away like a wad of paper. "Retreat now, Jedi." A determined look came onto Ash's face, and his skin began to glow slightly. Jumping he spun around and flipped several times, striking at Kyurem. Land with his feet on the edges of the cargo car, he engaged Kyurem with a blinding flurry of attacks. Then, he heard choking sounds behind. When Ash turned to look Kyurem disarmed him, and drew back his arm for a quick strike. Then Kyurem himself looked back, and saw a tunnel approaching. With no room to crouch down Kyurem chose to jump, sliding to a stop on the mountainside.

~oOo~

"His vital signs are stable now. He should be ready for Audino in just a short time."

Siilan shook his head. "In all my years as a Jedi and connoiseur of the Force, I've never come across a Sith like the one we faced..."

"What did you say his name was, again?" Asked Nurse Joy.

"Kyurem," Iris said.

"Kyurem. I knew I'd heard that name before. Do you three happen to know who your friend is?" Nurse Joy pointed through the window to the table in the treatment room where K'el was.

"No, I've never seen him before." Ash said.

"He's with the Swords of Justice."

"Swords of Justice?" Iris wondered.

"Yes, they're a trio of Jedi masters. They saved the people of this city when it was under attack from a gang of wild Pokemon, and helped them to safety; and only a few years ago protected a Jedi Consul when a Sith tried to assassinate him in the town hall. And beyond what they're done here on Unova, they travel the galaxy helping the opressed and defending the freedom of the Republic. There's Terrakha, with unmatched strength and humor; Virisia, with great speed and a clear sense of justice; and Cobal, their cool and calm leader with a body and heart of steel. That there is K'el Deo, the only apprentice they've ever taken on."

"So K'el Deo and the Swords of Justice are friends..."

"Mm-hmm, and he's training to become one of them."

_Wow..._ Ash looked at K'el with new admiration, remembering his own Jedi training.

Later in the evening, K'el was walking with Ash and friends in Roshan City. "I'm so glad you're doing better, K'el." Iris said, patting his shoulder.

"So, K'el, how did you end up on the train, anyways?" Asked Ash, sitting down on a bench.

"I..." K'el hung his head, and brushed a lock of his hair out of his eyes. "I challenged Kyurem to a battle... I wanted to become a Sword of Justice!"

"Do you have to battle Kyurem to become one?" Iris questioned.

"Well, all the others have. I've been training so hard, I _needed_ something to prove myself, so I went after him. But, as the battle got underway, I got scared... and because of me, the Swords of Justice have all been frozen in ice by Kyurem! And after that, I- I ran away." K'el walked off to drink from a nearby water fountain.

"But what about the Swords of Justice?" Ash asked.

"They're still there, frozen. Kyurem must be furious with me for running..."

"Maybe that's why he attacked us," Ash said to himself. He jogged over to K'el's side. "K'el Deo, are you still scared? Tell me. You can't keep being scared because you were defeated! Remember who you are, and what you want to be!"

"I'm not scared of anything! In fact, I'm going to go back and save them right now!"

A smile spread across Ash's face like jam on a biscuit. "That's the spirit! I'll come along and help you out."

"Kachu!"

"I'll come, too!" Said Iris.

"So will I!" Siilan added.

"Ash, everyone..." K'el gulped, and smiled. Nodding he turned around and began to run off but was stopped by Siilan.

"Wait just a minute! It's boxed lunch time! You can't duel on an empty stomach." In a flash, Siilan unpacked the food and set up a floating table, setting it for his companions.

"Come on, dig in, K'el!" Ash encouraged. Cautiously, K'el picked up one of the flatbread sandwiches in his box and took a bite.

"Thith ith delithous!"

"I know, right?" Ash stuffed in the rest of his sandwich along with his cheese stick in his mouth, and picked up another of his sandwiches. At the same time, he and K'el began choking on their food.

"Such little kids..." Iris sighed.

Elsewhere, as twilight approached, there was a chill spreading over the bay. Mist crept over the water, and flash foze into a layer of ice. Bursting up from beneath it came Kyurem, his Sith robes dry and white hair flowing in the breeze. "Now, my Cryogonal, you must work to split up that young Jedi and his friends... but take care that Ash and K'el Deo are left to me. GO FORTH!" The water freezing to ice under his feet, Kyurem ran forwards and then sprang up, flying into the air.

"...She showed me in her holo-book his white and black forms..." Explained Iris "They were both so crude and fascinating. He has the power to shift between them- gaining the powers of Reshiram _and_ Zekrom. Maybe that explains why he's so strong..."

The others were thinking over this when the water fountain they were walking beside started to freeze. "Hmm? What's going on?" The Cryogonal swept onto the scene, shooting beams of ice all over the place. "Hey! You leave my friends alone!" K'el used the Force to slam a Cryogonal into another, but the Pokemon recovered soon.

"Let's go!" Ash shouted. The crew ran off, dodging the icy beams along the way. They sped into a covered bridge, a couple Cryogonal following them.

"T- that's Darth Kyurem!" Iris pointed over to the side, where the Sith was leading his pack of Cryogonal in flight.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Charging up, Pikachu let loose his attack, the lightning hitting Kyurem square in the chest. It did nothing, and in a blur of energy Kyurem transformed, his hair now black and his arms bulkier, and there were a few spikes of bone sticking up from the back of his left hand.

"That's his black form!" Kyurem shot out a blast of Force lightning at them, prompting the gang to get on the move again. As they moved out into the open street Iris took a turn down a flight of stairs. "Hmm? Ash, we're down here!"

While Ash was looking more Cryogonal came up, the snowflake-like Pokemon in a spiralling chain. Sensing them behind, he called out, "PIkachu, Iron Tail!" The hard attack slammed the Cryogonal back into each other, but another chain rose up from their side and circled around them.

"Hyah!" With a hop onto the rail K'el jumped up and slammed his fist into a Cryogonal, shattering it and pushing the others back. As Ash followed him over the rail Pikachu used Electro Ball to cover their retreat. Still more Cryogonal circled around them, when K'el glanced to the side and noticed a speeder bike parked next to them. "Ash, Pikachu grab on!" They did so, and held on for dear life as K'el had difficulties controlling the unfamiliar bike. At one point Ash was running on the wall of a building as K'el steered them close to it. The wild ride continued through the streets of Roshan City, between the building and over a covered escalator. Settling down in the open city square, K'el and Ash and Pikachu got off the speeder bike. Before they could catch their breath, Iris and Siilan waved to them from a bridge.

"Ash, we're over here!" Taking the sidewalk leading to the bridge, it wasn't long before yet another group of Cryogonal came up from the back. They fired beams of icy energy at Ash and K'el as they ran, swooping around and firing their beams off seemingly without any target and freezing up the water. Backhanding away a Cryogonal that got too close, K'el leaped off the sidewalk and onto the ice, sliding about for a moment. A ring of Cryogonal hovered over him but before their Ice Beams could find their mark Ash came long on the back of his Boldore, Pikachu clearing a path with Thunderbolt. Skimming along at high speed over the ice Ash and K'el had to jump off before crashing. As Ash recalled Boldore to its Pokeball Iris called to them again, from the other end of the bridge. They met up and took random turns, before stumbling onto the subway station. They stopped to breathe for a moment before continuing down the stairs, until they went down on the track and followed it.

"Great, how are we going to get out of here?" Iris pouted, facing the large metal double door.

"Well, this subway system is designed to be able to take you anywhere," Siilan said, reading the route map he'd picked up. "But I can sense that the door is locked."

"Let me handle this." K'el Deo said, stepping up. Focusing for a moment he used all his power and the Force to kick the door. The mighty blow forced them open. "How's that work for ya?" The journey down the trail was quiet, as the dim lights kept the mood tense. There was yet another double door waiting for them, this one slightly rusted. "I'll take care of-"

"Hold on, hold on." Iris cut in. She calmly walked up to the door and pushed them open. "These were unlocked." Walking through, they came into a large station.

"Amazing, they've turned this old train station into a museum!" Siilan said. They enjoyed having a look at these ancient forms of transportation as they passed them by, going up a flight of stairs. Consulting the route map again, Siilan added, "Once we pass through here we should be just outside the city!"

A particular vehicle having caught her eye, Iris began to smile. "I just had an idea." Pointing to the blimp, she said, "Let's take that! I bet we could still use it!"

As the hangar roof opened, the Cryogonal that had been on their trail busted through the door. They swarmed over and around the trains and airplanes, before seeing the open roof and flying out through it. They quickly gained on the blimp, and Iris could see them as she looked out of the windshield.

"Axew ew!"

"Don't worry Axew, we'll be fine!" Iris pulled back the throttle, and the blimp lifted up and away...

The lift shuddered to a stop, and Ash, K'el Deo, and Siilan stepped out.

"Will she be okay?" Ash wondered.

"We'll just have to trust that the Force will guide her," Answered Siilan.

K'el stared over the rail, remebering his parting from Iris. _"So I'll go and make myself the bait, understand? Meanwhile, you go on ahead and save your friends, alright?" Iris..._

Up in the sky, the Cryogonal had finally caught up to the blimp, and hovered in front of the windshield. "You're out of luck! It's just Axew and little ol' me in here..." Axew danced around in joy, and the Cryogonal flew off. "We did it, Axew! Now how about you say we-" Interrupted by a roar, Iris looked out and saw Kyurem flying right beside them. He stretched out his hand, and a chilly cloud of air blew over the blimp, turning into ice and freezing up the rotors. _C'mon, work...!_ They refused to budge, and the blimp went into a nose dive...

Making their way back down to the hangar, they saw a caboose departing on its own. Seeing Siilan driving it, they changed their course and followed. Checking to make sure all the Cryogonal were following Siilan, Ash and K'el snuck off. "Let's go!" As they ran through the forest, K'el remembered when they had decided to split up. _"This thing runs on electricity! So I'll distract the Cryogonal. You go on and save the Swords of Justice, K'el Deo!" Siilan..._

"We're over here!" Siilan called to the Cryogonal. He looked down to his Stunfisk on the other side of the controls, who was feeding the engine electric energy. "Give it some more power!"

In the forest K'el was silently thinking of Iris and Siilan's diversions, and then thought back to the first time he'd seen his masters swear their oath. _A breeze blew over the grassy hill at sunset. Extending a bright green blade of light from her hand and raising it in the air, Virisia said, "Greater than one, is two." Lifting his arm and makng a deep golden-brown blade with the Force's light, Terrakha crossed it with Virisia's blade and said, "Greater than two, is three." Cobal formed his light blue blade and set it against Terrkha and Virisia's, and said, "When the power of friends finds unity in the Force, then true power and courage are formed." True power, and courage..._

Sensing K'el's thoughts were on his masters, Ash asked, "So, K'el, what are the Swords of Justice like?"

"Pika!"

"Well Terrakion is the toughest man I know. Heh, but I remember this one times we were training near a stream, catching Basculin for lunch. He told me 'when you're in battle, K'el, never take your eyes off your opponent, not til the very end.' And then he just flips a Basculin into the air with his bare hands- but it used Water Gun on him as it was falling. Oh, if you just could've seen the look on his face. He's... a really nice and fun guy, too.

"That sounds pretty awesome to me!" Pikachu spoke up in agreement. "So how about Virisia?"

"Always calm, and very cool. This once she took me out for a chase, and she kept doing these impossible jumps from boulder to boulder. 'Fear is your greatest enemy,' she said. 'You must conquer the fear that lives in your heart.' And _right_ after she said that the rock she landed on crumbled, but she landed on her feet and kept jumping on up and up and up the mountain. Then she looked back and said, 'And when you have conquered you fear, then the Force will make you free indeed.' Virisia's so smart, and she's just _so fast,_ too."

"And what about Cobal? He's the Swords of Justice's leader, right?"

"Cobal... he's an inspiration to us all. Like this one time we were sparring, and I was trying as hard as I could but he still just left me flat-footed and flung me into a tree with the Force. 'It's what we learn from defeat that is truly important, K'el. Once you understand that you will know the full weight of the sword.' And that's stuck with me through all those hopeless sparring duels against him and the other Swords of Justice; but sometimes Cobal says things I don't quite get."

"I hear ya."

"Pika pika..."

"Hey K'el? I hope you become a Sword of Justice someday soon, too." K'el looked silently at Ash, who had kept on moving up the mountainside...

Far away, the caboose rocketed over the rickety rail as the Cryogonal chased it, their Ice Beams icing over the track behind Siilan. Glancing up ahead, Siilan saw something that gave him an idea. He blew out the rear window with the Force, and picked up a large boulder from the mountain, holding it steady. _And..._ Right when they entered the tunnel Siilan flung the boulder back at the Cryogonal, shattering them and backing the remainders into each other. Immediately after he did so, however, a cold mist entered the tunnel, and it started freezing up the wheels and shafts until the caboose was crawling forwards and slowed to a stop just outside the tunnel. Suddenly the iced over front window broke into thousands of shards, and there in front of Siilan was Kyurem, his yellow eyes glowing beneath his hood.

"The Jedi you're looking for aren't here, Darth Kyurem." Siilan said with a bold smirk. "It's just me and Stunfisk." With a loud roar that set Siilan back on his heels Kyurem took off, flying upwards into the night.

And at last, K'el and Ash arrived at the dark mists surrounding Kyurem's lair, the outline of it a deep black silhouette. "Hey, Ash... why are you doing this for me? You just met me."

"Easy, you're my friend. And you're a Jedi, a brother in the Force. Besides, you're just a blast to be around." K'el began to smile when a chattering sound grew louder off to the side, and not long after a small group of Cryogonal passed by. Quickly K'el and Ash ducked behind a broken booth, only to be surprised by Kyurem passin by just a second later. The monstrous Sith flew by and faded into the mists, but he left behind his strong presence in the Force. K'el could feel Kyurem's rage echoing back at him from the lair, and trembled at the memory of their last battle. "Alright! It's time to do this!" Ash ran ahead, but stopped when he noticed K'el was not with him. "K'el? What's wrong?"

"I... I lied, and told Kyurem I was a Sword of Justice! _I lied_ when I challenged him to a battle." His fear growing, K'el turned away from Ash. "That has to be why he's so angry with me..."

Ash tried to read K'el's heart, but the young Padawan's emotions were too mixed and intense to do so at the moment. "...Alright then," Ash said, casting off his brown outer robe. "I'll take care of this for you. Let's go, Pikachu!"

"Pika pi!"

_Ash, no!_ Still frozen in fear, K'el watched Ash sprint away...

On the top of the caboose, Siilan was quietly thinking, biding his time when above he heard something. _Oh, it's-_ "Hey! Down here!" He began waving, and tried to reach out to Iris in the Force.

"Hmm? Down there, that must be- Siilan!" Axew lifted up his head at the name, and jumped up to sit on the control bard and wave.

Back inside tha lair, Ash wondered for a moment at the size of it. The light of dawn slowly seeped in, illuminating some of the dark recesses of the cavern. The light glinted off something, and Ash followed the intuition of the Force and went towards it, running down pathways and stairs. He slid to a stop before a large block of ice, and could see three figures trapped within. "That has to be them..." Ash took out two of his Pokeballs, holding them up high. "Pignite, Boldore, I choose you!" The two Pokemon came out, and looked back to Ash. "Flamethrower and Rock Smash, go!" The two Pokemon got to work, spiiting flames and chipping away at the ice. Pikachu helped out a little too, using Iron Tail to swing at the large hunk of ice. Ash himself took out his light saber and hacked away, but found the ice strangely resistant to his blows. "Don't worry, I'll get you out!" While Ash and his Pokemon worked at freeing the Swords of Justice, a cold fog began to spread thoughout the cavern. Ash ignored it until a few Cryogonal flew up around him. "What...?"

"Your time has not yet come, my Jedi..." Kyurem's voice sent a chill up Ash's spine, and far away he saw a dark shape slowly becoming more human-like as it walked towards him. "I assure you we will meet again, but for now I demand that you _leave_!" Stretching out his hand, a torrent of flame issued from Kyurem's palm and raced towards where Ash was. It came closer and closer, until it suddenly dispered mere feet from them.

"Who- K'el!" The Padawan nimbly jumped from walkway to walkway down to Kyurem's level, and ran forwards. "K'el! I had a feeling you'd come back!"

"Pika!"

_Ash, Pikachu..._ "Kyurem! I lied to you, I'm not a Sword of Justice yet... I'm just training to be one. I had no business challenging you to a battle, but I had to face you, no matter what!"

Kyurem walked forwards, his golden eyes piercing through the haze. "At last the truth reveals itself," He rumbled. Raising a hand he re-formed the ice over the pillars surrounding the circle and the gate. "Pass through the gate once more, and let us end this."

From where he stood, Ash could see K'el tremble. "K'el, don't worry! You're going to be a Sword of Justice, aren't you?" K'el gulped and looked from Ash to Kyurem, but the trembling stopped, and his resolve came back. He slowly began to walk, and then jog, and then run, memories of the time he spent with the Swords of Justice coming back to him: fishing with Terrakha, enjoying oran berries with Virisia, Cobal ruffling his hair as he walked by. _ That's the thing- I've never been alone, all this time! My friends have always been beside me!_ K'el passed through the gate, his body glowing. "I'm ready, Kyurem. And this time I'm not running away!" Holding out his hand, a golden-brown light came from it, slowly legnthening into a blade. Sensing two people coming in, K'el shouted "I will become a Sword of Justice!" Ash, and now Siilan and Iris, looked on in wonder and admiration as K'el shone with the Force's light. "Here I come, Kyurem!"

"Then come." K'el raced around the circle, and used the Force to hurl a loose chunk of rubble at Kyurem. It was sliced in half by the Sith as K'el ran in, and they shared a brief pattern of strikes before locking blades, and then Kyurem Forced K'el spinumbling away into an icy pillar. Instead of crashing into it K'el ran up it, and leapt from pillar to pillar before touching back down. Using every bit of speed he had he rushed Kyurem, picking up more loose rubble with the Force and throwing it at him. Kyurem evaded with a jump, and hovered in the air to blast a column of fire at K'el. The flames were againg dispersed, but Kyurem growled and instead sent a beam of livid light blue energy at K'el. As ice began to crack elsewhere, a trail of it was formed as K'el evaded Kyurem's attack. Advancing again K'el tried to keep close to Kyurem, evading heavy swings and using sharp counter-strikes. Sensing an opening K'el grabbed Kyurem's wrist and tried to silce him open, but had his arm twisted. He quickly flipped and blocked the incoming strike to his back, but was thrown across the ring into a pillar. "You'll never defeat me with a style so weak!" With the Force kyurem sent another stream of flame at K'el who was able to dodge with a jump, but at the zenith of his arc Kyurem sent his strongest burst of fire at him yet, catching him off guard and singeing his left sleeve off. He was able to redirect it to avoid taking a direct hit, but the attack exploded when it connected with the wall, and the sound of twisting metal rent the air. Sputtering, K'el sword of light went out

With a growl of displeasure Kyurem fired an Ice Beam, which K'el though he had avoided- until he noticed his foot caught in the ice. "Is that it...? Ash said to himself. As Kyurem slowly walked forwards, he morphed into his Black form. It looked almost as if there was a sudden swarm of fireflies around him at first, but then the lights became longer, and crackled into arcs of Force lightning. Surrounding himself with a mass of it, Kyurem rose into the air. "Darth Kyurem! That's enough!" Ash made to jump over the rail and come help, but was tossed back towards the Sword of Justice. _What?_

"This battle... is far from over!" With a mighty heave K'el broke loose of the ice, jumping far out of the way onto the dome of a silo beside the ring. Focusing of the Force, he tore the dome from the top and leapt off, sending the metal flying towards Kyurem. It collided with the aura of electricity surrounding him, and with an oddly musical metallic sound the aura exploded. The shockwave broke the last of the ice covering the Swords of Justice, finally freeing them. K'el looked back to see his masters joining Ash and his friends.

"The Swords of Justice!"

"Ash," Virisia said, "You have our gratitude."

"You know my name?"

"We could hear you and your friends through the ice," Cobal answered.

"Thank you for looking after K'el Deo." Terrakha added.

Greatly heartened by his masters' freedom, K'el turned back to see Kyurem advancing on him. He ran straight in to attack, but with a flick of a finger Kyurem took him up in the Force and threw him all the way across the ring into the pillar of ice next to Ash and company. "K'el..." Ash whispered.

"Can he take anymore?" Iris said, turning to the Swords of Justice. "Please, can't you do something?"

"This is K'el's battle," Virisia said with a heartbreaking look on her face.

"Only he can end this." Cobal finished.

"Ew!" Pointed Axew. K'el was slowly rising, as Kyurem prepared another blast of flame.

As it flowed towards him, the words of his masters came back to K'el. _"Never lose sight of your enemy! Keep up your concentration to the very end!"_ K'el evaded the blast, and moved in towards Kyurem. _"Fear is your greatest enemy! You must conquer the fear that lives in your heart."_ K'el slipped another pulse of flame, sweat dripping down his brow. _"It is what you learn from defeat that is truly important..."_ Kyurem kept up his attacks at a frightening pace, alternating between Ice Beams and blasts of fire. K'el was able to avoid them all, and he made it to Kyurem, and with all his might used the Force to send him flying backwards out of the ring. K'el breath heavily, hoping against hope that Kyurem was done, even though he knew he wasn't. Just as he feared, Kyurem rose back up, Force lightning swarming around him. Concentrating it into a ball, Kyurem flung it at K'el, who thought he had dodged- the ball went flying up and away from him and impacted the wall of the cavern.

"No!" Iris cried.

"He was doing so well," Virisia added quietly.

"Look," Cobal said, cutting into the silence. K'el was shining within the block of ice, the radiance growing stronger and stronger until the ice cracked open, K'el's sword of the Force's light reformed.

"That's...!"

"The Secret Sword," Virisia said hopefully. _K'el..._

"I can still battle!" K'el shouted bravely. Wasting no time he flashed in, nearly getting a direct hit on Kyurem. All the same, it actually managed to break the Sith light saber and send him flying into a pillar hard enough to break it.

"Ah, a taste of true power." Siilan commented. The hope of Ash and the rest watching was renewed, and they cheered for K'el.

Impossibly, Kyurem began to chuckle. "This... _this_ is what I've been waiting for!" He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood. "Because you have now shown me your true power, the true battle can begin!" Force lightning sparked around Kyurem, and his veins began to glow an icy blue, as did the scar over his left eye. Kyurem inhaled and breathed out a hellish column of fire, but K'el blocked it with his blade of light! The young Padawan gritted his teeth and pushed forwards, until Kyurem strengthened the attack and blasted K'el back. Chargin up a titanic globe of lightning, Kyurem shot it forwards. It wasn't aimed at K'el, though. It was headed right at the Swords of Justice, and Ash, Siilan and Iris! With a pained cry K'el sped around and jumped in front of the globe, his blade of light lengthening. He sliced the orb in half, staring down Kyurem between the divided hemispheres for a moment before they exploded. The blast shook the entire cavern, tendrils of the electricity scouring the support beams and walkways and reaching up into the sky.

The dust beginning to settle, Ash rubbed the grit out of his eyes and walked forwards. He and the others saw K'el down in a small crater, the metal flooring bent beneath him. The young man stood and staggered forwards but was unable to make it to Kyurem, and collapsed. Kyurem stomped on K'el's hand, the blade of ligtht blinking out. "You... win. I give up..."

Kyurem's gaze was fierce and inscrutable. Surprisingly, he stepped off K'el's wrist. "You protected your friends in pursuit of victory... your sword is a fine one, young Jedi. But you still have much to learn, as do we all." Without another word Kyurem morphed back into his normal form and turned to walk away. K'el began to smile, but the cavern started to rumble. A tall supporting tower tilted and fell, directly at K'el and friends.

"We must escape!" Cobal warned. The group made their way across sagging stairs and shuddering silos and crumbling walkways, ascending the wall of the cavern on their way out. They watched in awe as Kyurem froze up the insides of his lair, preventing the broken paths and supports from falling apart completely.

"That was an amazing battle, K'el." Ash said, rubbing K'el's shoulder.

"Now, you know the true weight of the sword." Cobal said. "And you have become a Jedi knight and a true Sword of Justice." Virisia nodded in agreement, and led them to a nearby ledge at the rim of the cavern.

"You finally did it, K'el." Said Ash.

"It was an amazing thing to see." Iris said.

"And it is a joy to offer you my congratulations," Siilan said.

"Thanks... I owe it all to you."

"Stand with us, K'el. I think it is time we recite the oath." Forming their Secret Swords of light with the Force, the Swords of Justice crossed their blades.

"Greater than one, is two." Terrakha said.

"Greater than two, is three." Virisia said, her eyes smiling over at K'el.

"Greater than three, is four." He said.

Cobal intoned, "When the strength of friends finds unity in the Force..."

"True power and courage are created!" They said in unison. K'el beamed in pride over himself, but most of all over his friends. The morning sun shone through their swords, and as one they flashed...


	2. One with the Force

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away,  
There existed creatures known as Pokemon.  
Coming in many shapes and sizes,  
They had spread to several planets, such as Unova.  
A dark force is bent on exterminating them,  
And the Jedi masters Ash, Siilan and Iris  
Have stayed on Unova after their vacation  
To help combat this etermination that could unbalance  
The Force. Young Jedi knight and Sword of Justice  
K'el Deo is also returning to Unova,  
To confront a dangerous former foe and investigate  
The growing Pokemon crisis...

The light saber struck the child down. The Sith continued on his rampage unchecked, and in the shadows of his hood the young man's eyes were yellow. The scene shifted, and the same young man was now piloting a large burning ship. His features, which to Virisia looked nearly identical to her protege K'el, were bunched up in concentration as he handled the controls. The scene changed again, and the young man was now a child, two Jedi with him as he walked away from his mother. Suddenly shifting again, the young man was not in sight but on a table was a Sith in a dark suit and cape screaming. The cry tore at Virisia's heart, and she woke up sobbing. "K'el... K'el, no..." The Jedi master held her head in her hands, thinking over the fragmented vision. _How could it be his child...? I know of no woman K'el loves, but the man looked too much like him for it to be otherwise... and he turned Sith._ Heaving a sigh, Virisia got up and retrieved her private writing tablet from her bedside table. She waved and turned it and her lamp on with the Force, and sighed again before getting started on writing. "A seed of darkness, a new hope, balance brought to the Force." She spoke, the speech to text program doing its work. "Beloved chiled, bitter master, balance brought to the Force. Illusion of power, final hour, love has run its course. Rebellion done in war and love, balance brought to the Force..." Virisia ran her fingers through her blond hair, moving it out of her eyes. "Save. Send to Jedi Temple on Coruscant."


End file.
